


The Future's Open Wide

by jortsbian



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Anal Sex, Bottom Richie Tozier, Established Relationship, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Minor Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Minor Bill Denbrough/Mike Hanlon, Minor Patricia Blum Uris/Stanley Uris, Top Eddie Kaspbrak
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:34:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25140961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jortsbian/pseuds/jortsbian
Summary: Okay, so he wanted to marry Eddie for sure. Assuming he hadn’t completely misread Eddie’s signals, he was thinking about the same things. So, sure. It was a definite possibility. The question, then, was how to ask.—OR: Eddie drops hints, Richie drops a line, and they both drop their pants.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 24
Kudos: 215





	The Future's Open Wide

**Author's Note:**

> Title from "I Melt With You" by Modern English

It started, like most things in Richie's life, with Eddie Kaspbrak.

Eddie might've argued against that, because despite everything about them proving otherwise, he liked to claim any nonsense he got into was Richie's fault. Richie would counter that, of course, by pointing out the numerous occasions where Eddie definitely led them up shit creek confidently and without a paddle. And while this was more of Richie's ridiculousness, Eddie definitely played a part.

So Richie's point stands. It started with Eddie Kaspbrak and ended with several hundred dollars missing from his bank account and some incredibly awkward phone calls.

See, one perk of being single for the better part of his adult life was that Richie never had to deal with the awkward conversations with the not-yet-missus every time one of his friends got married. Sure, he had to go through the "yes, I'm sure I don't have a plus one" routine and chuckle good-heartedly at the pitying looks every time, but he'd never actually experienced the pre-engagement jitters before. His college girlfriend he'd overcompensated with had been firmly anti-marriage, and then she'd taken that back and been firmly anti-marriage-to-men when she met the woman that would become her wife at Richie's improv show, so fat lot of good that had done him. 

Richie had long since resigned himself to his status as bachelor (confirmed bachelor, har-dee-har) when he got the phone call from Mike and was hit with the double whammy of his childhood memories and an absurd amount of  _ feelings. _ And then Eddie had hopped on a plane to LA and decided to make himself at home, and before Richie knew it five years had passed with Eddie by his side, like something out of a goddamn Hallmark movie.

He's happy. Really! He's so absurdly happy that he could burst. He never expected to get any sort of happy ending, but by some turtle-powered miracle, he did. But he never anticipated it, so marriage was never even on his radar.

Eddie, however, had gone through it all. Marriage was his  _ bitch, _ assuming that meant "not all that well-liked and ending in an unceremonious divorce that he firmly _ did not want to talk about. _ " He knew the game, played it, and returned it to the store for whatever the opposite of in-store credit was. The metaphor started to fall apart once alimony was in the mix.

So no, Richie hadn't thought much about marriage. Sure, it sounded nice, but first there was no one there and then there was Eddie with his messy divorce. It never really seemed like an option until it was, and at that point it was the  _ only _ option.

Marriage hadn’t even crossed Richie’s mind until Eddie plopped down on the couch next to him, mail in hand, and announced that Stacy from the office was getting married.

“Oh, that’s cool,” Richie said, shuffling so he could tug Eddie closer against him. Eddie went willingly but turned to look up at Richie meaningfully.

“She invited us to the wedding,” Eddie said, poking Richie lightly in the stomach with the letter in his hand. Richie glanced down at it and read the flowery script inviting them  _ cordially _ to Stacy and Jennifer’s wedding in a few months. 

“Stacy’s the one that took you to yoga, right? During the divorce?”

Eddie nodded.

“Jen was our yoga instructor. Stacy’s been really happy with her, especially after everything with her ex-husband. It’s good to see her happy,” Eddie explained, and Richie shifted so that he could kiss the top of Eddie’s head and subtly move the invite away from where it was still digging into his stomach.

“Hey, I’m happy for her! She makes some baller Christmas cookies, she deserves a cheesy ending.” Eddie huffed a quiet laugh and shook his head. He sat quietly for a few minutes, until:

“You know, this is her second marriage?”

“Uh, yeah?” Richie said, trying to figure out where the topic of conversation was going. “Weren’t we just talking about her ex-husband?”

“Right,” Eddie sighed, and then he dropped it. 

A few hours later, the question still bounced around Richie’s head while Eddie snored quietly next to him. Because, okay, he wasn’t stupid. He could put two and two together just fine, and Eddie wasn’t exactly the master of subtlety. It was about as obvious as a neon sign that Eddie was thinking about marriage, but Richie didn’t know where to go from there. Were they supposed to talk about it? He wouldn’t have thought Eddie was interested in getting remarried. When Ben and Bev got married the year before, he hadn’t said anything about it past how happy he was for their friends, so Richie assumed it was just… off the table. Which was fine! He was happy being Eddie’s boyfriend/partner/significant other/ _ goddamn it Richie why isn’t there a good name for middle aged gay men dating _ until the day he dropped. 

But maybe he didn’t actually have to be. As much as he was happy, what if he went for more? What if he  _ got _ it? More was scary, exciting. He craved it as much as he feared it.

They didn’t talk about it. Not directly, at least. Talking about it meant doing something about it, and Richie wasn’t sure he was ready for that. Honestly, he didn’t know if Eddie was either. But he hinted at it like he thought Richie just hadn’t caught on yet, and it would’ve been funny if it didn’t also scare him shitless. Sure, there was nothing inherently terrifying about Eddie leaving  _ Say Yes to the Dress _ on while he went to work or discussing their favorite restaurant’s catering options in a tone he must’ve thought was casual, but the idea of it was intimidating beyond belief.

Maybe, Richie explained to Bev over the phone one day, it was so scary because he wanted it so badly. He’d never thought it was an option, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want it. He’d dreamt of getting married even before he thought it was possible, and then dreamt of it more once it  _ was _ possible. Of course, by then he’d mostly given up on the idea of ever finding someone he’d actually fall in love with so it was mostly during sad jerk-offs when just the idea of tenderness was enough to get him going, so it didn’t really count as properly thinking about it in his book. But he  _ wanted _ it, by God did he want it, and now that it was actually a possibility, it scared him shitless.

“Have you ever considered,” Bev sighed, like she was tired of hearing Richie’s mooning over Eddie three decades down the line, “that you should just talk to him about it? He obviously wants it and so do you. I mean, it’s big but you’ll both be happy about it, right?”

“Sure, but what about up until then? What if I’m wrong somehow and he doesn’t want to?”

“Richie, he obviously wants to. I’m not going to tell you any more, but he texted me the other day asking where Ben and I bought our flowers.”

“Maybe he’s just interested in gardening?”

“We got married in Texas, honey. I don’t think they would keep to California,” Bev said, laughing softly like she was trying to cover it up until she was sure he wasn’t about to talk himself into a nervous breakdown. Richie huffed a laugh himself.

“You’re right. Of course you’re right. I’ll figure something out. Thanks, Bev,” Richie said. He waited for her goodbyes before hanging up and dialing Ben’s number.

“Hey, Richie,” Ben greeted him, sounding amused. Richie frowned.

“Damn, I thought I called soon enough that she wouldn’t have had time to tell you yet,” he mourned, and Ben laughed.

“She’s sitting right next to me, actually,” Ben explained. Now that he mentioned it, Richie could hear her laughter, tinny in the background of the call.

“Right. Hey, you were lonely for twenty-something years, too, right?” he asked, and he could hear Bev admonishing him even as Ben chuckled lightly.

“Basically, yeah. Has anyone ever told you you’ve got a way with words?”

“Don’t like to mince ‘em! But, uh, did you ever struggle with that when you and Bev got together? And when you decided to get married?”

Ben hummed quietly in contemplation. “Not especially,” he said at last. “I just saw her again and I knew that was it, you know? And I wanted to give her something better than what she had before. Why, are you thinking about marrying Eddie?”

“Don’t pretend like you couldn’t hear my whole conversation with Bev five minutes ago. Of course I am, I’ve been thinking about marrying him since I was thirteen. It’s just that for most of that time, it wasn’t even possible, so I didn’t do much more than think about it. Now it’s real and it’s scary and it’s scary because it’s real, right?”

“Rich…” Ben said softly, and Richie snorted.

“Dude, don’t get all soft on me just because gay rights sucked in the 80s. Everything sucked in the 80s. I’m a big kid now, I can deal.”

“Still,” Ben said, and it sounded sniffly. “I’m just glad to see my friends are okay and allowed to thrive now. It makes me really happy.”

“Ugh, I should’ve called Stan. He would stop me from being soppy.”

“He would not,” Bev butted in, difficult to make out over the phone but still clear enough. There was some rustling, and then she became louder as she was presumably put on speaker phone. “He calls Patty babylove, are you kidding? The man's a secret sap and we all know it. Mike and Bill would be no better either. You know how they both cried after their first date."

"Yeah, well, I cried after my first date with Eddie."

"That's different. Everyone expected you to."

Richie blew a breath out with a huff. "Maybe I should call Sandy."

"Your lesbian ex?"

"Yup," Richie said, nodding even though they were three time zones away. Bev snorted.

"And you want her to convince you not to rush into marriage?"

"Uh-huh."

"Right," Bev laughed. "How's her wife doing?"

"Okay, I see your point," Richie conceded. "I just don't know what to do here!"

"I think there's only one person you really need to talk to, Richie," Ben said gently, "and you already know who it is."

"Ugh," Richie groaned. "You're right, but that doesn't make it any less scary."

"I think it's always going to be scary," Ben said. "But that's why it's a risk, right? And the reward is definitely worth it."

"He loves you, Richie," Bev added. "And you love him. This isn't news, honey, and if you're not ready don't force it, but I think you'll be really happy."

"I know," Richie said, and he did. Loving Eddie was as easy as breathing, and it was hard to forget that Eddie loved him back when he told him every day. You didn't ignore someone's morning breath to kiss someone you only tolerated. They were in love and it was amazing and Richie wanted to do something about it.

Ben asked about his newest special, and Richie asked about their dog, and by the time they hung up, Eddie was walking through the front door.

"Hey," Eddie said, shucking off his work jacket and shoes. "Who was that?"

"Ben and Bev. Did you know their dog is pregnant?"

"I didn't," Eddie said. He walked over to where Richie was on the couch and kissed him softly. He pulled back with a groan as his neck popped and stood up. "I'm gonna go get changed and then I'll come back out here, okay? Do you wanna order dinner?"

"Sure," Richie said, "but I can just make something if you want. I bought some salmon the other day I wanted to try glazing soon."

"Honestly, I just want some cheap takeout," Eddie called from their bedroom. "I'm fucking wiped."

Richie chuckled to himself as he pulled up the website and placed an order. As he completed it and tossed his phone to the side, Eddie walked back into the room in a soft t-shirt and sweatpants. He sighed tiredly and flopped down onto the couch, adjusting so his head rested in Richie's lap. Richie threaded his hands through his hair, disturbing the gel that still held it flat. Eddie yawned and relaxed into the touch.

"What'd you order?" Eddie asked as Richie scratched lightly at his scalp.

"Thai. I got that noodle dish thing you like so much."

"I know you know what it's called, dipshit, you just ordered it," Eddie said with no bite. "But thanks, that sounds really good."

"'Course, Eds. You walked in here and it was like your whole body language was screaming  _ I need steamed veggies! _ How could I refuse?”

Eddie snorted and let his eyes flutter shut. They sat quietly for a few minutes, content to just relax in each other’s company. That, too, had been a surprise at the start of their relationship—no one expected that they were capable of spending time quietly, but as their bickering became less necessary as a performative way to get each other’s attention, quiet little moments became more and more frequent. They still teased each other plenty, but it wasn’t as necessary all the time. Sometimes it was alright to just enjoy each other without the ribbing. God, Richie wanted to marry him.

Shit. He wanted to marry him so fucking badly. He  _ could _ marry him.

Richie didn’t realize he had tensed up and frozen until Eddie pushed himself up onto his elbows to look him head-on in concern.

“Hey, everything alright?” Eddie asked, brows furrowed, and Richie loved him so much it ached. He shook his head lightly and huffed out a laugh.

“I’m fine,” he said, because he really had never been better. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks, but it wasn’t bad. It wasn’t even really a surprise, if he thought about it. Of course he wanted to marry Eddie, there was no question about it. “Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. I promise.”

Eddie opened his mouth to reply, but whatever response he might’ve had was cut off by the doorbell. He startled and then groaned as he stood up with a muttered  _ I’ll get that, _ leaving Richie momentarily alone with his thoughts. 

Okay, so he wanted to marry Eddie for sure. Assuming he hadn’t completely misread Eddie’s signals, he was thinking about the same things. So, sure. It was a definite possibility. The question, then, was how to ask.

Before he could continue with that stream of thoughts, Eddie returned, takeout bag in hand. He set it on the coffee table in front of the couch and sat back down with a long-suffering sigh.

“Couch dinner tonight?” Richie teased, even as he shuffled forward to pull the food out of the bag. “Want me to turn on a movie?”

“Shut up. Yes. Play  _ Ferris Bueller, _ ” Eddie said, and who was Richie to refuse?

Forty minutes into the movie, Eddie turned to Richie and announced that they should go buy suits tomorrow.

“Um,” Richie choked, momentarily reeling from the reminder of how  _ incredibly fucking badly _ he wanted to marry Eddie. “Okay? What’s the occasion?”

“We don’t have nice matching suits for Stacy and Jen’s wedding,” Eddie explained, fixing Richie with a vaguely concerned look. “Is that okay? You didn’t have anything on the calendar for tomorrow.”

“Yeah, Eds, that’s fine. Bright and early, right?”

“Ugh, not that early. It’ll be Saturday, I want to sleep in. I was thinking we could go to JB Clothiers, though?”

Richie let out a low whistle. “Pretty pricey, huh?”

“Shut up, it’s not like it’ll break the bank.” And then Eddie looked away, fidgeting, and said, “Plus, we should be able to reuse them.”

_ Oh. _ Okay, sure. That had to mean something, right? When else would they wear matching thousand-dollar suits if not to their own wedding?

“Sure,” Richie said, and he hoped it didn’t sound as strained to Eddie as it did to himself.

  
  
  


(If that night Richie took his laptop into the bathroom and spent four hours scrolling through online engagement ring options until he found one that he thought he might want once he could find it in person, that was his business.)

  
  
  


JB Clothiers was, in Richie’s opinion, absurdly fancy. He would probably have been making fun of it more had Eddie not been in the middle of trying on a three-piece that would serve as the base of his (custom made!) suit and had he not looked absurdly hot in it.

Eddie seemed to be fully aware of Richie's predicament if his smug expression as he looked over him in the suit—not even  _ fitted _ yet, Jesus—but Richie got even with him when he put on a base suit of his own.

Richie stretched and Eddie made a choked noise. Richie had to bite his lip to stop himself from laughing.

"Got a problem, Spaghetti?" Richie asked, rolling his shoulders minutely. The base suit was too tight and strained at the seams, but Richie decided his discomfort was more than worth it for the look on Eddie's face.

"Your  _ shoulders, _ " Eddie said, sounding strangled. In a quieter voice, Eddie choked out, " _ Thighs. _ "

Richie laughed at that, although he was sure Eddie could see the flush rising to his cheeks. Not to be outdone, Richie slapped lightly at Eddie's ass.

"You're not too shabby yourself, mister," he said, and then the tailor reentered the room before Eddie could respond or tamp down the redness tinting his ears and cheeks and they had to concentrate on the matters at hand.

  
  
  


The tension didn't dissipate as they discussed options with the tailor. If anything, it grew more intense the longer they spent in the shop, wearing ill-fitting suits and looking each other over hungrily. By the time they were back in their day clothes and arranging for pickup times for the completed garments, Richie was barely restraining himself from tugging Eddie into the bathroom for a quickie then and there. Tragically, or maybe luckily, 45 was not a great age for bathroom hookups, so they'd have to wait until they got home.

"Hey, Eds," Richie said as they were walking to their car, and then waited until Eddie turned back to look at him, a little quirk in his brow indicating his attention. Richie lowered his voice to a stage whisper. "I don't mean to be presumptuous, but should I take a shit as soon as we get home or do you want to?"

Eddie snorted. He swatted lightly at Richie's chest even as he told Richie  _ you go ahead and do it. _ Richie just grinned at him and gave his shoulders a little wiggle.

  
  
  


Once Richie was squeaky-clean and ready to go, he stepped into their bedroom to find Eddie in his boxers tapping idly at his phone. Richie put his hands on his hips and  _ tsk- _ ed his disapproval.

"Here I put in all this work and you aren't even naked when I get back? Unbelievable," Richie said. Eddie looked up and rolled his eyes even as he set his phone on the nightstand.

"That's the last time you'll put in any work tonight," Eddie teased, and Richie gasped in mock offense. He walked to the bed and sat bodily next to Eddie, dropping the towel from his waist unceremoniously onto the floor. Eddie twitched like he wanted to pick it up but stopped, a true testament to how stupidly horny he must already be.

"I can't believe this," he said, and then Eddie leaned over and cupped his face between his hands so he could kiss him hungrily. When they broke apart for a heavy breath, Richie murmured against his lips, "I'm being disrespected in my own home."

Eddie laughed.

"It's not disrespectful, it's just true." At this, Eddie kissed up his jawline until he could murmur lowly into Richie's ear, "You like it."

Richie shivered and carded a hand through Eddie's hair, soft and loose because he didn't believe in wearing gel on weekends. Eddie kissed down his neck and then bit softly at the meat at the base of his throat. Richie hissed as he sucked at it and then let himself fall back onto the bed. Eddie followed, biting along his collarbone and bringing his hands up to cup his chest. 

"You're so—" and then Eddie moved lower, kissing and biting along Richie's chest, "—fucking—" another kiss, "—hot. Jesus Christ—" another bite, "—I wish you could've seen yourself today. The suit was so  _ tight _ I thought I was going to explode."

"Speak for— _ hah _ —yourself. I was losing my mind over that cinched waist of yours before I even got a shirt on— _ Eddie. _ "

Eddie rubbed his hand over where it had fallen to the inside of Richie's thigh and sucked lightly at a nipple. Richie bucked up into the touch and shoved his hand down the backside of Eddie's boxers so he could grab a handful of his ass and pull him forward. Eddie went willingly, grinding his clothed erection against where Richie's was filling out. He groaned.

"Eds, c'mon. Take these off," Richie said, tugging at his boxers. Eddie didn't respond except to shift his hips to allow for him to pull them off, still mouthing at Richie's chest. Richie groaned as their cocks rubbed together and reached out blindly to the nightstand to fumble for the bottle of lube. As soon as he found it, he grabbed it and pushed it into Eddie's hand.

"Here you go, champ. Go to town."

Eddie snorted and accepted the bottle. He leaned back far enough to look over Richie hungrily and Richie gnawed on his lip in anticipation. The click of the lid snapping open only built the tension higher as they maintained eye contact, pupils huge and fiery, and then Richie jolted as he felt the cool press of a finger against his entrance.

" _ Jee- _ sus, dude, that's cold. Fuck."

"Do I need to warm it up more?" Eddie asked. He began to draw his hand back but Richie grabbed at his wrist, holding it in place.

"Don't you dare. I need your dick ASAP," Richie said, and Eddie laughed, shaking his head.

"Shut  _ up, _ " he said lightly, and then he pressed a finger into him. Richie sighed and relaxed into the touch as Eddie fingered him open as efficiently as he could. A second finger joined it and Richie groaned. He let his hand drop from where it had rested on Eddie's arm onto the bed and curled his fingers in the sheets. Eddie wasted no time opening him up none too gently, but he wasn't harsh, either. Still, the thought of the sharp suit Eddie had worn earlier made Richie  _ crave _ him, want him desperately, and the urgency with which Eddie moved told Richie he was thinking the same. Oh God, the suit. The thought of it, of what it could imply, nearly overwhelmed him. A third finger prodded lightly at his entrance and Richie rocked his hips back onto his hand, moaning and jolting when he rubbed at his prostate. Eddie scissored his fingers open and Richie needed him  _ desperately. _

"Eds, Eddie, please," Richie gasped.

Eddie didn't need any more convincing, if the dark look in his eyes and the speed with which he retracted his hand were anything to go by. He sat back on his haunches and looked over Richie hungrily.

"Condom?" Eddie asked, and Richie shrugged.

"Only if you want. I'm clean as a whistle, though, and you know it won’t bother me,” Richie said, shuffling a pillow under his hips, and Eddie sighed in exasperation.

“Just say you don’t want me to use it like a normal person,” Eddie huffed as he adjusted Richie’s legs on either side of his hips. Richie grinned and hooked his legs behind him to pull him closer.

“No can do, Eduardo. You knew what you were signing up for when you got into this relationship, I can’t go changing up the contract now.” 

He twitched as Eddie’s cock nudged against his hole and pushed his hips a little higher off the bed. Seemingly getting the hint, Eddie grasped at the divots in his hips and pushed into him with a huff. Richie tried not to tense at the intrusion and let out a shaky breath. The stretch was familiar and  _ good _ as Eddie pushed further in. Richie loved it. Even as he paused as he bottomed out, Richie felt good and full and desperate for more. He reached up and grasped tightly onto Eddie's shoulder.

"Alright, Eds," he said, and he would've been embarrassed that he was nearly panting already if Eddie didn't look ready to devour him as soon as he spoke. "No time like the present. Let's  _ go. _ "

Always one to give as good as he got, Eddie gave one curt nod before he pulled out nearly entirely and thrust quickly back in again hard enough to jostle Richie. Richie, for his part, scrambled for Eddie's back and met the movement by pushing back onto him, savoring the way Eddie sat thick and heavy inside him.

They fell into a quick rhythm, nearly rough but not quite in how they moved together. Eddie moved in short, hard thrusts, and Richie did his best to pull him deeper, to meet his movements with some of his own. The bedsprings creaked lowly under them, but it was well beyond Richie to care. He pulled his leg further up the bed and moaned when it adjusted the angle deliciously.

There were times during sex when one or both of them lost their words, when everything they wanted to say was said by their bodies pressed close together. Richie loved those times, but he also loved when Eddie fucked his brains—and with it, his brain to mouth filter—out so hard that he found himself babbling nearly uncontrollably. Eddie  _ liked _ when he talked, had told Richie as much a few months into their relationship and claimed to regret it every day but forgot to regret it when he panted  _ I want to hear you, Rich _ into his ear. He did that then, leaning in close so he could breathe it into existence and pressing their chests together so that Richie’s cock was trapped between them with just enough friction to drive him crazy.  _ I want to hear you, sweetheart. Let me hear you. _

And well, who was Richie to say no?

“Fucking—love you,” Richie groaned, biting back a gasp as he ground his hips back against Eddie. “Love you so much. I want,  _ ngh, _ want to do this forever. Want to be with you forever.”

“ _ God, _ yeah, Rich. Forever,” Eddie agreed, eyes squeezed shut tight as he thrust forward into Richie. Richie grabbed hard at his back and sighed.

“ _ Eddie, _ ” he said, halfway between a moan and a sigh. “I love—fuck!—love you. Don't wanna stop this. Want to— _ shiiiiit, right there _ —want to marry you so bad.”

Eddie stilled and Richie keened lightly, attempting to shift back on him enough to generate any more friction. His eyes were finally open again and wide as he stared at Richie with an emotion he couldn’t decipher in his punch-drunk state.

“What?” Eddie asked frantically, and finally Richie’s brain caught back up to what he said and he grimaced.

“Bad timing, sorry,” Richie said sheepishly, and then pouted as Eddie pulled out and sat back on his heels. He squirmed lightly at the unexpected emptiness. “Eds, c’mon, don’t leave me hanging here. I’ll take it back, I swear.”

“ _ Don’t—! _ ” Eddie exclaimed, and then huffed loudly as he stood and began to pace. Richie would’ve laughed at the sight, with Eddie’s ruffled hair and sweat sheen and the fact that he was pacing while his dick still stood erect, had he not been achingly hard and more than a little panicked himself. "Don't take it  _ back, _ Richie, Jesus! Just—now? Mid-fuck? Are you  _ kidding? _ "

"It just sorta slipped out? I'm sorry, I was gonna wait until I had a ring and everything, but—"

"You don't have a ring?" Eddie asked, high-pitched and hysterical. Richie would laugh if he wasn't starting to panic himself.

"Not yet! I've been looking but the one I wanted was only available online and this seems too big to order off of some website but I didn't want to just settle for something else, you know?"

As soon as Richie said  _ I've been looking, _ Eddie's pacing stopped. He sat back down on the edge of the bed and reached out to rub lightly at Richie's ankle. With that one little touch, most of Richie's anxiety melted away. He grinned nervously at Eddie.

"I'll buy you a ring, Eds," he said softly. "I'll ask you properly. This isn't how I wanted to ask but I did mean it, you know? I do want to marry you, if you'll have me."

Eddie laughed, soft and a little bit choked up. He nodded at Richie.

"Yeah, Rich," he said wetly. "Of course I want to marry you. Jesus."

Richie had the sudden realization that Eddie was holding back tears, which meant Richie couldn't be far behind. The reality of the situation dawned on him,  _ of course _ echoing back in his mind, and Richie sniffed.  _ Of course, _ he'd said, like there was no question. Like the answer was obvious. Hell, maybe it was.

"Gee, remind me not to propose to you during sex again," Richie sniffed, wiping at his eyes. "Total boner killer."

"It doesn't have to be," Eddie said thoughtfully, appraising Richie almost shyly. His hand at Richie's ankle inched up toward his thigh and settled just above the knee. "I think I'd be okay with fucking my fiancé."

"That's lovemaking, mister," Richie teased. "Put some respect in the name."

"Alright, sure. I wouldn't mind  _ making love _ to you either," Eddie said with a quip of his lips. 

Suppressing a shiver, Richie pulled himself up so he was kneeling on the bed and beckoned Eddie forward. He obliged and mirrored Richie so they were practically chest to chest. Richie couldn't tamper the grin that spread across his face so he didn't try. Gently, he cupped Eddie's face and led him into a kiss, soft and open-mouthed and tender. Eddie returned the kiss just as lovingly, hands tracing idly over Richie's chest. After seconds or minutes or years, Richie pulled back just far enough to look at Eddie.

"Hi," he said, smiling dopily, and Eddie huffed a quiet laugh.

"Hey," Eddie replied, matching his smile. He gasped quietly as Richie brushed a hand against his cock, which had flagged considerably. He shifted forward, leaning into Richie's touch, and Richie moved with him so that they were close enough for him to wrap his hand around the both of them. Eddie let out a pleased little sigh and gripped more tightly at Richie's chest, one thumb brushing idly over a nipple as Richie stroked them both back to hardness. 

"Eds. Hey." He waited for Eddie to blink his eyes back open and grinned at him. "This,  _ hah, _ romantic enough of a proposal for you? I'm on my knees and everything."

Eddie snorted once then laughed hard, and all of the tension left in the room fizzled out as Richie joined him in giggling even as he stroked them both leisurely. God, Richie loved him a stupid amount.

Once Eddie had mostly caught his breath, he shoved lightly at Richie's shoulder.

"Okay, okay. Lay back down." Richie fell back easily, eager to oblige. Eddie followed above him, propping himself up on his hands so he could lean down and kiss Richie sweetly. Richie let his mouth fall open and suppressed a grin as Eddie licked into his mouth, tongue sliding slowly against his. He pulled away with a quiet sigh and pushed himself up high enough to look down at Richie. Richie smiled and dragged his feet higher up the bed.

"C'mon, Spaghetti. I’m all yours.”

At that, Eddie  _ giggled, _ which was absolutely the last reaction Richie expected and filled him with joy. He grinned, giddy with love and the same feeling he’d always had when he made Eddie laugh. 

“Something funny?” Richie asked, and Eddie shook his head, but he couldn’t seem to keep his smile down.

“Nothing at all. I’m just happy,” Eddie said, and then he leaned down to kiss Richie softly again. When they broke apart, Eddie murmured against his mouth, “You just  _ proposed. _ ”

“I just proposed,” Richie agreed, and he would feel embarrassed about the wetness in his eyes if he couldn’t see Eddie’s shining just as much. He kept grinning even as Eddie adjusted them together and pushed in again, slow and gentle where he hadn’t been before. Richie sighed lightly as he was seated, shifting so he could appreciate the stillness for what it was: a pause, a moment before. They were in the same position, but the energy was changed, charged with emotions far stronger than lust. Eddie shifted again like he wanted to kiss Richie but the position was all wrong, so he pressed soft kisses to the base of his neck and shifted just enough to make Richie's breath hitch.

Eddie pulled back just far enough to look him in the eyes, unbelievably tender and loving. Richie thought he might cry just from looking at him, shit. He pulled his legs up tighter to his body and let his eyes flutter shut as Eddie began with careful, measured movements. The frantic need to  _ fuck _ fast and hard had been replaced by an intense need for closeness. 

The rest of the world was gone. There were only the two of them, Richie and Eddie. RichieAndEddie, tied together mind and soul and body and by the promise of a shared future. Richie was ecstatic. He also needed Eddie to  _ move. _

"Eds, baby," he breathed, like he didn't need any other words. From the way Eddie looked at him intently and then thrust forward slowly but purposefully, maybe he didn't. 

From there, they fell back into a steady rhythm. Each roll of Eddie's hips sent steady waves of pleasure through Richie, half sensual but half overwhelming love, and he found himself making little punched-out sounds. If the way Eddie's panting breaths echoed each gasped  _ ah, ah, ah _ was anything to go by, he was feeling just as much as Richie, which only made him feel more of that delightful cocktail of  _ good. _

"Eddie," Richie breathed, because Eddie had his eyes shut tight and he wanted him to look at him suddenly more than anything. It worked—Eddie opened his eyes and gazed lovingly down at Richie, pupils blown and brows scrunched together as if deep in concentration.  _ Deep in something, _ Richie thought to himself, and then just suppressed his laugh with an easy grin. Eddie huffed lightly and reached up with one hand to cup Richie's cheek tenderly. Richie turned his head minutely to kiss Eddie's thumb and Eddie smiled, rubbing his thumb over Richie's lip before dipping it lightly into Richie's mouth. He tapped at his jaw and slid his hand so his first two fingers rested on his lip.

"Here, open up," Eddie said, and Richie breathed a soft laugh.

"Gotta keep me from suggesting any other major life changes, huh?" Richie joked, and he took pleasure in how both of their voices sounded strained. Eddie's mouth twitched, amused, and he tapped at Richie's jaw again, almost absentmindedly. Happy to oblige, Richie opened his mouth around a lazily pleased grin.

"Something like that," Eddie said, and he pushed his fingers into Richie's mouth before he could make a joke like  _ you know, I think we should really open a foster home. _ They both knew it wasn't to shut him up, it was that Richie liked to have something in his mouth just as much as Eddie liked the stimulus. 

With Eddie's fingers sitting heavy on his tongue, barely moving but for the way his whole body shifted up and back again with each steady thrust, and his length buried deep within him, the pleasure he'd been feeling multiplied intensely. Each movement felt like every nerve ending in his body was alight. He grabbed at Eddie's back just to hold onto him and pressed his tongue up between Eddie's fingers, sucking them further into his mouth near-desperately. He could feel the steady heat in his gut growing and he ground his hips back on Eddie's, feeling needy and alight. 

"You,  _ hah, _ close?" Eddie asked, and Richie moaned around his fingers in response and squeezed at his back. "Yeah, yeah, me too. Fuck, sweetheart, me too." 

Eddie leaned down closer to him so Richie's neglected cock pressed between their stomachs. It was hardly enough pressure but it made Richie buck anyway, thrusting up into the space created and down onto Eddie's dick. He sucked Eddie's fingers hard and squeezed his hips between his thighs. Eddie gasped lowly as his thrusts became more erratic before he twitched hard and spilled into Richie, the wet warmth filling him as Eddie continued to push through it, thrusting hard and quick like he was trying to give Richie everything he had left in him. Richie clenched hard around him and thrust up into the space between them.

"Fuck, Rich," Eddie groaned. He withdrew his fingers from Richie's mouth and reached down to take him into his hand. Richie moaned brokenly as his senses were overwhelmed—the light ache in his jaw, Eddie's softening cock inside him, his fingers around him. Eddie stroked him swiftly and Richie whined softly, and then Eddie leaned down to kiss his shoulder and murmured  _ I love you, I love you so much _ against his skin and Richie's vision nearly whited out as he came hard between them, spattering across both their chests. He was vaguely aware of Eddie stroking him through it, repeating sweet words into his chest punctuated by kisses, and a wetness on his face as he squeezed his eyes shut. He came down bodily when Eddie shifted inside him and winced lightly. He patted Eddie's shoulder softly and Eddie looked up from his chest, smiling a little dopily.

"I'm gonna pull out now," Eddie said, and Richie nodded. He twitched a little at the sudden foreign emptiness and squirmed when he felt come drip out of him. Eddie reached down to it and ran his fingers through it, circling around his hole lightly. Richie shivered.

"Eds," Richie said insistently. Eddie looked up, a little furrow in his brow. His hand stilled.

"Do you want—something? A toy, or…?" Eddie asked. Richie considered it for a moment before shaking his head. It would be fun to try to keep himself prepped for a round two (three?) later, but he felt succinctly fucked out and really just wanted to take Eddie to a nice dinner or something. After a nap, of course. And after—

"We should tell the Losers," Richie said. "You know I can't keep a secret. I'll lose my mind."

"You kept a pretty big secret for a long time, Rich," Eddie teased, but the crinkle around his eyes showed no complaints. Richie shrugged.

"Yeah, but that was a secret I  _ wanted _ to keep. I want to go shout from every rooftop that we're engaged." Richie grinned so hard it hurt and wrapped an arm under Eddie's shoulder to haul him up to him. Eddie yelped lightly but allowed himself to be pulled, and Richie couldn't get enough of him. He stared up dazedly into Eddie's eyes and Eddie met his gaze, full of as much love and wonder as they had been the first time they'd kissed but without the frantic desperation that came with things being new, replaced by a steady knowledge of sureness. Richie's eyes still felt wet but he couldn't bring himself to care. "We're  _ engaged, _ Eds. We're gonna get  _ married. _ "

He leaned up to kiss Eddie in the same moment that he lowered himself to meet Richie. They kissed softly, without any intentions but because they could. They were engaged and it was a Saturday without plans and they were going to kiss because they could and they wanted to. God, Richie had never been happier.

After minutes or hours or days, Eddie pulled back and rested his head on Richie's shoulder, breathing heavily. Richie trailed a hand softly over Eddie's back, tracing loose patterns into his skin.

"So," Richie said, dragging his hand in the shape of a dick against Eddie's back and hoping he'd notice. "Losers?"

“Yeah, go ahead. We should definitely tell them.” When Richie fumbled for his phone on the nightstand, Eddie pushed himself up onto his elbows incredulously. “Wait,  _ now? _ ”

“Of course. Don’t worry, it’ll be quick,” Richie said. He unlocked his phone and pulled up the group chat, where Mike and Stan seemed to be debating something to do with the ethics of writing about fictional ancient creatures in an apparently historical setting and also the best way to prepare pasta salad, for reasons beyond Richie.

_ not 2 interrupt this incredibly thrilling conversation but eds and i have decided to tie the knot, _ he sent. When Eddie’s phone dinged, he spluttered in surprise.

“You sent a  _ text? _ ” Eddie demanded. At Richie’s shit-eating grin, he huffed loudly. “You know they’re not just going to let that slide, right? There’s no way they’re not all about to call—”

Before Eddie even finished his sentence, both phones rang with a request for a group Facetime. Eddie groaned and rolled over to silence his phone while Richie propped himself up with a pillow against the headboard and turned to Eddie gleefully.

“What do you think, should I answer?” Richie asked, and Eddie sighed long-sufferingly. 

“Yeah, pick up. They won’t stop calling until you do, anyway.”

Chuckling to himself, Richie accepted the call. Eddie sat up next to him as the call went through and they were faced with the urgent faces of their best friends. They all began to talk enthusiastically at once as their video loaded and Richie laughed loudly at the ruckus. When Eddie snorted next to him, he just beamed harder and pulled him close.

“Wait, wait, guys!” Ben said, shockingly the loudest of the group. He was smiling fondly from the couch by the looks of it, Bev leaning over the backrest behind him to see his phone. “Let them talk! I want to hear about this.”

The rest of the Losers quieted down, giving them their full attention. Richie shrugged faux-casually. He didn’t think a single one of them bought it.

“Dunno what else there is to say. I asked, he said yes, we called you. Easy-peasy,” Richie said.

“Are you two in bed right now?” Patty asked as she walked onscreen and sat next to Stan. He pressed a kiss to her hair and she leaned into him and smiled. “Already celebrating, huh?”

“Something like that,” Richie agreed, and Eddie sat up angrily.

“He asked in the middle of sex!” Eddie exclaimed, apparently enthused with anger. The Losers all laughed, which only seemed to spur Eddie on. “It wasn’t even romantic! We were literally just fucking and he popped the question out of nowhere!”

“Can we see the ring?” Mike asked, obviously suppressing his own laughter. He seemed to be in the middle of Sprouts. Eddie turned back to Richie and glared. Richie grinned sheepishly.

“Richard Wentworth Tozier, don’t tell me you didn’t buy a ring,” Bev said. She didn’t even try to hide her amusement. Richie shrugged and the Losers exploded again.

“I have one picked out!” he said, almost shouting over the noise. “I just haven’t bought it yet!”

“You cuh-couldn’t wait?” Bill asked. Richie pointed at the camera.

“I could not,” Richie said, not even joking. “What you fail to consider is that Eddie’s stroke game is fucking impeccable.”

Eddie elbowed him in the ribs for that, but he didn’t manage to conceal the smug expression on his face. 

“Let me get something straight,” Stan said. His face said  _ unamused _ in a way Richie knew meant he secretly found it hilarious but wasn’t willing to give him that satisfaction. “You proposed in the middle of sex without a ring or a plan.”

“That I did, Stan the man.”

“And Eddie, you went with it?”

“Once he promised to get a ring, sure,” Eddie agreed easily. Richie almost laughed at that. If only it had been that easy.

“And you texted us presumably immediately afterwards?”

“Yup,” Richie said, popping the ‘p’. Stan sighed in exasperation.

“Tell me you at least cleaned up first,” he said, and Richie smirked.

“Nope!” he said cheerily, panning the camera down to the mess drying on their chests. Eddie yelped and smacked at his hand, attempting to cover up the camera and only managing to shake it. The Losers all shouted in protest.

“Do  _ not _ show us your dicks, Richie!” Mike hissed urgently. Despite his attempts at a low tone, an elderly woman picking up tomatoes behind him stared at him in affront. Richie relented and pulled the camera back up so it only showed their heads and shoulders. Eddie settled his head back against Richie’s shoulder but still managed to look personally offended as Richie snickered.

“We’re all very happy for you,” Bev said between giggles of her own. “Please go shower before you regret it.”

“You are a very hairy man, Richie. You don’t want to let that dry,” Patty said solemnly, which only inspired Richie to laugh harder. Man, he loved his friends.

“Alright, alright. We’ll leave you bunch of prudes alone,” Richie agreed, and Eddie snorted. Everyone said their goodbyes and Richie hung up the call, only to get a text from Bill in the group chat a few seconds later.

_ Don’t forget to send pictures of the ring once U get it!!! Love U guys! :) _

Richie sent a thumbs up emoji followed by a ring, a bed, two men holding hands, a smiley face, and a UFO in a separate message. Eddie glanced at the screen curiously.

"What's the spaceship for?" he asked, and Richie shrugged the shoulder Eddie wasn't leaning on nonchalantly. 

"Dunno. Adds flavor. It'll keep them on their toes." Eddie laughed quietly and Richie's heart squeezed. Even after everything, years of being together and more years of being apart, he was just as far gone on him as he'd always been. They sat quietly for a moment, lost in thought. 

“Alright, get up,” Eddie said finally, stretching as he tore himself away from Richie. Richie groaned but sat up and swung his legs off the bed. He winced at the change of position.

“Ugh, my ass feels gross,” he complained, and Eddie rolled his eyes.

“You asked for that! You literally asked for that!” he said. Richie couldn’t protest because really, he had. “Anyway, that’s why we’re taking a shower. Come on, let’s go.”

“Round two in the shower?” Richie teased, and Eddie shot him a look.

“You are forty-five years old, don’t tell me you can get it up again already,” he huffed, and Richie shook his head  _ no _ with a smile. 

“Just checking. Hey, do you want to see the ring before I buy it, since you know already?”

Eddie contemplated that for a moment before he answered.

“No, I trust you. You know what I want,” he said. “And I think it’s fine to order it online as long as you insure the package, right?”

“If you say so. I can do that right now if you want to get the shower started,” Richie said, and Eddie nodded.

“Sure, but you’re helping me change the sheets later,” Eddie said. He walked around the bed to where Richie sat and leaned down to kiss him sweetly, and then pulled back just enough to press another kiss to his forehead. “Don’t be too long, okay?”

“Okay,” Richie agreed. “Love you.”

“Love you too,” Eddie said, lips quirking up into a smile. Richie pulled up the website where he’d found the ring on his phone while Eddie walked into their bathroom. As he was scrolling idly through the website looking for the ring he’d picked out, he got another text from Bill, this time privately instead of in the group chat. When he read the notification, he laughed out loud hard enough for Eddie to call out from the bathroom and ask if everything was okay.

_ I don’t want to steal UR thunder but would U be mad if I was also planning on proposing to Mike sometime soon?? _

Before he could stop laughing for long enough to respond, Bill sent another text, and Richie realized the other reason he hadn’t ordered a ring yet.

_ Also how do U figure out a ring size _

_ no that’s fine i would love that actually, _ Richie typed.  _ also ill get back 2 you in a second once i figure out eddie’s _

“Hey Eds?” Richie called, and Eddie made an affirming noise from the bathroom. “I’ll order this later. It’s not urgent.”

“Good,” Eddie called back. “C’mere, don’t keep me waiting.” And so Richie went, because he’d never been one to make Eddie wait in the first place and didn’t plan to start now.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! comments/kudos are much appreciated ❤ if you like this, check out my twitter [@deaiswarlock](https://twitter.com/deaIswarlock) where i have some AUs in progress or my tumblr [jortsbian.tumblr.com](https://jortsbian.tumblr.com/) to hang out!


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